The Rocket Files
by Maggie Hollyday
Summary: Otto, Reggie, Twister and Sam have all grown up, the group is not as it once was, friendships have changed and romances have blossomed. They all have to deal with their problems and the changed dynamics of the group, whilst still trying to preserve their childhood friendship. Reggie and Sam are in Yr 12, and Otto and Twister are in Yr 11.
1. Chapter 1

**I dont own rocket power! This is fan fiction :) **

**Chapter 1: Otto**

Otto sat comfortably at his desk, willing his hand to write, begging his brain to study. He kept on finding himself distracted, as procrastination overrode his desire to finish his essay. The window of Otto's room was just too appealing. It brought in the warm ocean breeze, and the sounds of the thundering ocean waves that were just whispering his name. Otto looked once again longingly at his surfboard, which lay desolated in the corner of his room.

For Otto, it was particularly hard to study, he would always find himself restless and disinterested. He found the endless waves of homework debilitating, and always gave up quickly, admitting defeat, and overcompensating with his other talents, _surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, hockey…_

_The Essay!_ Otto told himself, as he found his thoughts wondering off yet again. He reread the question, which was a pointless task, having memorized it from looking at it incessantly for the last half an hour.

_"How is friendship a theme in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice?"_

How was he supposed to know?He had tried reading the play, but it was too difficult. He just couldn't concentrate, all he could think about was _surfing,_ or_ hockey_, or _skating_, or-

Otto heard his phone vibrate from his beside table. He had left it over there in the hope that he wouldn't get distracted by it, as he would have inevitably ended up texting people or browsing Facebook. But Otto couldn't resist the inviting distraction of an unread text message, and began to lean back on his chair in an attempt to reach the phone. Leaning back further, with one hand securely on his desk for support, Otto stretched his fingers, trying to graze the corner of his phone.

The door of Otto's room unexpectedly burst open, revealing Reggie, her mane of pruple hair was tied clumsily in a bun, perched on the top of her head. She was wearing her favourite old sweater of Raymundo's, grey and giant on her petite frame, barely revealing her white shorts, which hid underneath, exaggerating her long, beach-worn legs.

"Have you seen this?!" She asked as she stormed into the room, gesturing to the phone in her hand.

Otto ignored Reggie's aggressive tone and continued his mission of procuring his phone, shifting his weight, so he was only supported by the back right leg of his chair.

Reggie exhaled impatiently, and moved quickly to the bedside table and chucked the phone onto his desk.

"I had it!" Otto snapped irritably, as he reluctantly placed all four legs of the chair onto the floor. He picked up his phone from his cluttered desk, and saw that the new message was from Twister. Otto looked behind him, where Reggie was now sitting on his bed with her arms and legs crossed.

"Just read the text Otto…"

Otto looked again at his phone, and obeyed Reggie's demand.

[Hey guys! Come to my house now! You wont wanna miss this! Twist]

Otto did not understand. Why was Reggie so desperate for him to read the text so urgently? Why did she sound pissed? Did she want to go now then? As soon as possible? Otto turned his chair around to face Reggie.

"Yeah, soo, should we go now then?" Otto asked hesitantly.

"No we should 'not go now then!'" Reggie mocked furiously in a sudden outburst. Rising from the bed, her voice growing more vicious with every word.

"He cannot just expect us to be by his side whenever he wants us! He can't just assume I am, I mean we are, available for him and his needs! What an ass! He always does this! And if WE don't come, suddenly we're the bad friends!"

"Reggie you're overreac-"

"I'm Overreacting! This is such bullshit! He is such a dick, and nobody ever notices, all of you just love him, and want him around all the time! I've had enough of this, and if you and Squid want to be little cowards, then fine!"

"What's your problem Reg?!" Otto interjected, rising from his chair. "What is your beef with Twist? Why are you dogging him? And not just him, all of us! Don't talk about your problems with Twist like they're mine as well, because they aren't. Twister isn't calling me a bad friend, and he isn't calling you one either. But I am. You're being a shit friend and a shit sister! I'm not being a coward, because there is nothing to be a coward about. You're just going fricken mental! You can't just get angry for no fucking reason! If you've got an actual problem tell us. But otherwise, just piss off."

Reggie stood there drinking in Otto's words, staring at him with her wide eyes. But Otto was now out of words, and an impenetrable silence filled the room. He resumed his seat, exhausted by Reggie and their constant arguing, and sighed, saying "Just lay off Twist, he hasn't done anything."

Reggie's eyes glazed over, as tears began surfacing within them.

"Exactly…" Reggie spoke quietly, looking Otto straight in the eye, and then turned abruptly, hastily leaving the room. Otto Heard Reggie's door close quietly, knowing, that behind that door Reggie would be crying.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Otto**

Otto turned around to face his desk, placing his elbows skillfully on the disordered table. Looking at his abandoned schoolwork, Otto began running his hands through his matted dreadlocked hair, thinking about the fight he had just taken part in. Even though Reggie had initiated the argument, he could not help but regret everything he had just said. Reggie had always been able to make Otto feel bad about anything - it was her superpower as an older sister, and his kryptonite.

Otto removed his gaze away from his work and his eyes settled on a faded picture pinned to his wall. He leant over the desk, carefully retrieving the battered fragment from his memory. It was of Reggie, Twister, Sammy and himself at the Rocket Shack, during the summer before Reggie and Sam had started high school. Each of them were holding Raymundo's famous special smoothie, which comprised copious amounts of ice cream, chocolate sauce, strawberries and M&M's. _Diabetes in a glass_, Otto thought bitterly to himself. The picture was taken behind the counter, with each of them sitting on the bar stools, capturing the first tasting of the Shacks immediate hit.

Otto chuckled quietly to himself, looking down at the was being his usual cheeky self, squirting his smoothie through his straw at Reggie and Sammy, who were both screaming, while Otto laughed maliciously behind Twister, enjoying the scene. Why couldn't they all be like they were back then? Why did it have to be so difficult? How simple their lives and their friendship had been and now new complexities arose.

Otto and Twister were still best buds, and despite being in Year Eleven, with the workload steadily accumulating, they still saw each other daily. However, Otto now felt himself continuously competing for Twister's attention, as Sammy had integrated his way in to their, supposedly, unbreakable friendship. It was strange looking at the Sam from the past, who was so afraid and unsure, and it was perturbing to think how unrecognizable he was going to become.

After separating himself from the taunts of Otto and Twister when starting High School with Reggie, Sammy found himself more confident, discovering an edge and wit about him that never was apparent before. He became more comfortable and secure with his individuality, and had successfully formed his own group of friends, full of like-minded people, instantly becoming the most unnervingly cool group in the year.

Years later, now completing his last year of High School, Sammy was known as _The Squid,_ to Otto's deepest irritation. He was well known and liked, and was undoubtedly one of the most popular guys in the school.

Sam was an icon, the notorious glasses and geeky clothes that he wore were a trend. He was no longer clumsy and unskilled, and he effortlessly mastered all the sports that Otto had prided himself in. He was taller than Otto, and only sat a couple of inches under Twister, and unlike Twister's lanky form, Sam was stocky and muscular. He was extremely daring, from constantly braving his fears as a child, and regularly disobeying his mother's curfew. Fashionable, handsome, athletic and smart, Sam was, unsurprisingly, never short of a girlfriend.

For Otto and Twister, Sam's sudden change meant that he had become older and cooler, giving them both advice on girls, school, and how to do new skating tricks, which he had learnt from his friends. As a result Twister began to idolize Sam, in the same way he used to see Otto, and begun asking Sam for help with schoolwork and other problems. Twister now continuously gets good grades, and always does better than Otto in a test.

Otto looked away from the young Sam, and diverted his eyes to his photographed self, immediately getting frustrated. When he was younger, he didn't have to worry about anything or feel insecure. He envied that self-obsessed little kid, who thought nothing else mattered other than winning a competition or being the best. Otto looked away, and tossed the old photo on the desk. He didn't find winning as easy anymore, and without winning, who was he?

Otto heard his phone vibrate again, picking it up off the desk, he saw a new message from Twister.

[Are you coming?]

Otto breathed a heavy sigh, he couldn't refuse a chance to hang out with Twister. So ignoring the growing guilt of completing his essay, Otto texted him back.

[yeah, ill be over in 5. Reg isn't coming though.]

Otto threw the phone back on the table, taking off his worn holey t-shirt in the process, and began to search his floor for a clean one.

Otto didn't think Twister would be surprised about Reggie not attending, he was actually a little impressed that Twister had the nerve to ask her at all. Lately Reggie hadn't been talking to Twister, and they all were completely oblivious why. However Otto often wondered whether Twister and Sam knew more than they were letting on.

When Otto had asked Reggie about the matter, she became hostile and defensive, saying either that it was 'none of his business' or that 'she wasn't ignoring Twister'. Otto didn't dare push her to tell him, they didn't get along as well as they once used to.

Similar to Sam, when Reggie entered High School, she changed as well. She stopped hanging out with Otto and Twister after school, and only really saw them on the occasional surf, or at hockey practice. She began to wear dresses and makeup, and preferred to go shopping with Trish and Sherry than go for a skate. Reggie also became engrossed by popularity, much preferring to be one of the girls than one of the guys. However despite all that, there were times when the group did all get together, and Reggie went back to her old, fun-loving self.

When Otto found his favorite mustard V-neck, and slipped it over his tan, muscular torso, he checked the mirror to see if the yellow did not clash too badly with his faded, maroon shorts. Despite his insecurities with Sam and Twister, he always felt confident about how he looked. He loved everything about his body, from his brown hair and big smile, to his broad shoulders and his chiseled abs, the only improvement he could venture to make, would be to add a couple of inches onto his 5.6 foot height.

Otto redirected his eyes away from his reflection. He picked up his phone and his prescription aviators from his desk, and walked to leave the room, not bothering to find his shoes. Otto looked back to his abandoned desk, feeling a fire of guilt develop in his stomach, and closed his bedroom door behind him. As he walked towards the stairs he glanced towards Reggie's closed door, with a large ROCKET GIRL sticker plastered to it. He would apologise to Reggie later, and with that thought, he ran down the stairs two at a time, and left for Twisters house.


End file.
